MEET: Siobhian Carroll

Submitted by Anna Stassen on Wed, 11/01/2012 - 07:00

Today we catch up with South London-based illustrator, retoucher and photo-manipulation whizz, Siobhian Carroll who tells us about what she enjoys most about her work and her plans for the future.

Please tell us about yourself and what you do?

I'm 35 years old and live with my fiancee, our 6 month old baby, Lilly, and our 2 rescue dogs. I'm an illustrator, a retoucher and general photo-manipulator.

Do you have any formal training/experience which applies to what you do? 

I've studied general art and design, textiles, photography, ceramics, costume design, prop making, and puppetry! (I'm a trained puppeteer!). The art training I've had has obviously helped with my illustrative work, but the photo-manipulation and retouching was self taught. As for experience, I worked for 4 years as a retoucher in a photographic studio.

You have a very versatile range in terms of your work, from illustration work such as custom wedding invitation designs to photo-manipulation and retouching. Do you find yourself drawn to one of these disciplines more than another and if so why?

It's hard to say! I love drawing. Working on illustrations gives me a huge sense of satisfaction as I know I've just created something that (I hope!) is unique. Especially with the custom wedding work I do as it's all tailored around the client/s. However, I do have a geeky love of photo-manipulation and all aspects of retouching. I like the challenges that my digital photo work throws at me. Even with something as simple as retouching an image for a fashion shoot or client's website gives me the opportunity to be creative and use my brain in a completely different way from when I'm drawing. I love combining the two with my photo-illustration work.

Your work features everything from cute critters to gothic beauties; what subject matters are you naturally drawn to and do you reference in your work?

Most of my work evolves around what the client is looking for, but if I'm working on personal projects for fun, I find that my drawing and sketching tends to be animal/cartoon based and my photo-manipulation work turns towards doll-like or unrealistically beautiful retouching, or the opposite end of the spectrum with something horror/macabre-based.

What do you love most about what you do and what do you find the most frustrating?

I love the challenges that come with my work and overcoming them. I love creating and making something special for someone. I love that people trust me and respect my work enough to come to me and I love that I can work from home and be here with my family.

At the moment my main frustration is lack of time. I have a lot of plans, but with little Lilly in our lives I don't have much time to work on them...although having said that, I wouldn't change it for the world! I'll get there in the end.

We love your photo-manipulations; what are your favourite designs and why? 

Thank you! Some of my favourite images are works that I created whilst working at the photographic studio. My role was senior retoucher and designer. Clients would come to have their photos taken and I would receive images from the photographers, then only have around 20 minutes per client to produce 3 creative art images. Surprisingly, some of my best work was done under this huge pressure!

Who or what inspires you most in your work?

I've sat here for too long, typing, deleting and re-typing the answer to this. I'm inspired by everything and anything! Here are a few links to some awesome people who make me want to better myself: Michael Leckie is a good friend and an amazing photographer. I've been lucky enough to work with him on a few projects, including a photo-illustration shoot with singer/songwriter, Foy Vance. http://www.michaelleckie.co.uk/

Other amazing creatives:

What are your plans for the next 12 months and where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

Within the next 12 months I hope to have a new website set up, catering specifically for wedding design: invitations, save the date cards, place settings etc, and wedding image retouching/photo-manipulation. In 5 years I truly hope that I will have enough work to be able to continue working from home. I'd love to have another baby!

Is handmade a lifestyle choice for you and if so why?

We're moving into a new house this year and I can't wait to buy handmade. I have my eyes on lots of beautiful items. I love giving handmade too and enjoy making things for people myself, or spending hours hunting for a gift that a friend or family member would really love. I find that handmade often fits the bill. You have the choice of buying something that you can personalise just for that person too!

Running your own business is extremely hard work, how do you balance your work and home life and what do you do to wind down?

At the moment I'm finding it hard to balance home and work. Having a small child who has just started crawling means I have to keep an eye on her at all times leaving me with very little time to focus on my business. If I'm feeling the need to do something creative, it will often involve my sketchbook or some knitting, essentially something portable. Sitting at my computer is becoming more and more of a luxury. I don't really wind-down as such! I enjoy walking the dogs in the woods every day and love playing with Lilly.

How do you get the word out about your work and where can we buy your work? 

I have a website: www.SiobhianCarroll.com and can be contacted regarding work at SiobhianCarroll@gmail.com.

You can see more of my work on:

Read about lots of other fabulous, creative people here: http://www.ukhandmade.co.uk/designers

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